To Love is to Care
by FireCacodemon
Summary: Written for Valentine's Day. Cancer cell's been brought back to life once more and goes to find U-1146 upon hearing Cell boy's request. NK visits the training ground for the T cells after following U-1146. One-Shot!


Sorry I haven't posted anything for a long while, been busy with personal life. Here's something I wrote for Valentine's Day.

Shippings: Cancer cell x U-1146 & NK x Killer T cell.

Cells at Work belongs to Akane Shimizu.

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To Love is to Care

Cancer cell slowly opened his eyes after being brought back once more. A smile grew on his face before he shattered the glass container and released the fluid inside all over the floor, shards of glass littered the floor as Cancer cell ripped the mask off him and mutated a vein over towards the box of oxygen and the basket of nutrients. He didn't even bother to look at the cell he was taking the precious goods from as he devoured the sandwich along with the other nutrients. He didn't care about the cell, he just knew that he needed the energy to proliferate, create his tumour and then locate where his friend was currently patrolling. He would need to work quickly if he wanted to get everything started.

"Hey, Cancer cell?" Cancer cell turned his attention towards the common cell that made him. He remembered who the cell was…this was the common cell that U-1146 was guiding around the digestive system with those lactic acid bacteria. This was one of U-1146's friends so Cancer cell couldn't take him out without hurting U-1146 in the process, something he was keen on avoiding. This cell did realise he bought a cancer cell into the world…right? He shouldn't be so cheery about that.

"You do realise what you've done, right?" He asked Cell boy with an innocent smile on his face.

"I know…and if they find out that I brought you back, I'll be killed…but I brought you back for a reason!" He told the cancerous cell with his voice full of determination. Cancer cell blinked in surprise before taking another bite out of the sandwich and finishing it. Why did Cell boy bring him back? What reason had possessed the cell to bring back such a dangerous foe? The more he thought about it, the more Cancer cell wanted to know the answer to. "I want…you to find White Blood Cell and…make him happy."

Cancer cell froze. Did he just hear that right? Did he really make his kind-hearted killer happy? Why? Could he believe that or was this common cell making fun of him? If he wasn't, he felt his nucleus skip a pulse just at the thought that his kind-hearted killer secretly waited for him to return. Cancer cell swallowed his mouthful and knew exactly what to do.

"Is…he not happy?"

"I guess you could say he's not been truly happy for a while. When he's been teaching me about pathogens to avoid he's just been…" Cell boy paused. He had noticed U-1146's mood dampen since the trip around the digestive system but he wasn't sure why. He had only assumed it was because of Cancer cell and something they shared together or something he had said. "…he's just been quieter and more reserved. He doesn't even seem excited fighting bacteria anymore."

"Hey…you made me benign…?" Cancer cell asked after looking at himself in the mirror. Cell boy nodded before smiling.

"This way you're not a threat to the body so the immune cells hopefully won't come to kill you and you can be with White Blood Cell and make him happy," Cell boy smiled at Cancer cell. How the hell did this common cell work out how to make him benign? Maybe he should give this common cell more credit. He was White Blood cell's friend and he was now seeing why; a smile grew on his face. Maybe he could be friends with this common cell too?

"Where is he?" Cancer cell asked.

Cells at Work – To Love is to Care

NK walked along the pipes of the body and looked down below. With the repeated occurrence of Cancer cell returning (and returning quicker) she was on patrol more and more, actively hunting down that cell specifically or lingering near the neutrophil he obsessed over so much. She had noticed how often U-1146 got himself into trouble, either by just being in the wrong area at the wrong time or actively throwing himself in danger.

"Pff, maybe he's upset a Fwee…his luck is terrible," NK chuckled to herself as she thought about what U-1146 would have done to upset a Fwee. She shook her head as it didn't matter. Some cells were just born unlucky and she suspected that U-1146 was born in the unlucky category. She shrugged as she continued her personal patrol.

"You worthless maggots! Keep running!" Killer T's voice vibrated the pipes she was walking on.

"I could do with a break~" NK smiled mischievously as she walked closer towards the sound of the hot-headed killer T cell, a plan forming in her mind to irritate him and cause her own amusement.

Cells at Work – To Love is to Care

U-1146 strolled through the body, a fresh cup of tea in his right hand and the tea map in his left. He always organised his routes by the tea stations and what station had what tea available. He took a sip from the tea before he folded up the map and slipped it back into his pocket. He was on the right route to reaching the 'forbidden tea' as he called it. The special tea that the killer T cells protected because Killer T himself made it a challenge for the naïve T cells to defend the tea from U-1146 himself. He continued to stroll towards the lymphatics with a small spring in his step.

"Wonder if he's out training or inside teaching them?" U-1146 asked as he walked to the training grounds.

"How are we supposed to slaughter any strange cells such as virus or cancer cells with you being so weak!?" Killer T demanded as he roared at the naïve T cells.

"So, they're training…" U-1146 spoke slightly disappointed. It would make getting the tea slightly harder than if they were inside. He was determined to get the tea though, so he would have to go through the naïve Ts and other killer T cells to get the tea he desired. The disappointment was taken over by a smile, he was determined to get the tea.

As he approached the training ground he watched as Killer T continued to bark orders or threaten the naives in training with more training. The naives were sweating heavily as Killer T pushed them further in their training but soon his eyes fell onto the tea station holding the prize. If he could avoid alerting the training T cells of his presence then he could get the tea and leave quickly. His pace dropped as he took caution as he walked. He couldn't make his footsteps silent but he worked hard to minimize the sound his feet made as he walked towards the station.

Cells at Work – To Love is to Care

Cancer cell left Cell boy's home and started out on his search to find U-1146, so he was near the killer T training grounds? He felt sorry for Cell boy having to be disturbed by that no brained T cell but at the same time he felt pride with how Cell boy was. He wasn't irritated constantly and generally seemed like a good cell to hang out with. Cancer cell was told about how U-1146 had saved him from the common cold virus too and after that provided the cell with a more entertaining way to learn about the dangers of the world.

"You really are a kind-hearted killer~" Cancer cell smiled before he spotted U-1146 sneaking around the training grounds. "Well, look who we have here~" He started to head towards his kind-hearted killer as silently as he could. He wanted to surprise him with his benign form rather than his malignant self. He didn't have the desire to take over the body this time, but rather to be with him and make him special. He still remembered what he told U-1146 before about him being careless about his health…maybe he took that too literally before? Cancer cell still knew that U-1146 threw himself into danger so still didn't look after himself well. He assumed that others had given up on trying to look after him which could only make it worse in the long run. Cancer cell was going to change that and make U-1146 feel so special that they'll work together to manage his, 'throw myself in danger' and turn it into something more beneficial.

It didn't take long before he caught up with U-1146 and started to follow him. Just seeing his kind-hearted killer showing a sneaky side to him made Cancer cell chuckle silently, he never expected the neutrophil to play stealth so well. He was normally so loud with the receptor going off and the killer drive roaring. As Cancer cell looked around his eyes landed on the tea station. 'So that's the prize he's after, you really don't change~' Cancer cell thought to himself with a happy smile on his face. He really shouldn't have expected much seeing U-1146 in stealth mode. He finally decided to say something.

"After tea again?" He asked, he watched as U-1146 jumped slightly before turning around quickly.

"Shh, I'd rather not let Killer T know I'm here," U-1146 whispered.

"Why? He's barking orders so can't hear us."

"Cell, he's very protective over the tea here. Yet it's the tea I crave the most right now."

"Why?" Cancer cell asked.

"Because it's called the 'forbidden' tea and Killer T works hard to protect it. Which makes it even more desirable."

"You're a strange immune cell," Cancer cell chuckled before the barking from Killer T stopped. The pair looked confused before U-1146 peeked over the wall.

Cells at Work – To Love is to Care

NK smirked as she walked off Killer T cell, leaving her footprints on his uniform once more from all the dust they had collected. She chuckled as she watched the cell in black glare daggers at her, his mouth in a scowl and the silence of the naïve T cells just made her feel better.

"My landing is getting better and better~" NK laughed as Killer T started to pick himself up from the ground.

"So, you're not really a loner, just a child looking for someone to entertain them…" Killer T growled as he stood tall over NK cell, he cracked his knuckles to appear intimidating.

"I'm just making sure that you're still keeping on your toes as that cancer cell could be turning up any time soon." NK glanced around before staring at the naives. "Are you sure you're training these cells right? They're still looking rather weak."

"They're being trained well! Go back to being a loner like you prefer!" Killer T yelled at NK.

"I'm only here because I followed Neutrophil here," NK rolled her eyes before she spotted the neutrophil she was talking about. Killer T looked up and saw the neutrophil by the station as he patiently waited for his tea to be brewed and served.

"Hey!" Killer T yelled and suddenly all attention was on U-1146 and Cancer cell. "That tea is for T cells only!" He pushed past NK and stomped towards U-1146. He wasn't going to let the neutrophil have some of the precious tea for the T cells. He didn't even notice the 'common' cell standing by him.

"You know the exact reason as to why I'm after the tea," U-1146 spoke calmly as Cancer cell slowly hid behind him, Killer T was still a rather intimidating cell even if he was aiming his frustration out on a different cell.

"You're just here to piss me off, aren't you? Always coming over for the tea you're not supposed to have!"

"It's just tea, what's the difference between this tea and any other tea in the body?" NK asked. Why Neutrophil wanted this tea so much was beyond her understanding.

"It's because I've called it forbidden…" Killer T grumbled as he towered over U-1146.

"Pretty much, tastes just like the rest of the tea in the body but it's more satisfying when I've officially taken it."

Cancer cell chuckled as quietly as he could. The reason for U-1146 taking this tea just seemed silly. This 'forbidden' tea sounded like a rather silly idea yet it worked on U-1146, something that he didn't think of before. Taking or making a tea station of his own to lure his kind-hearted killer towards him if this life didn't work out. He felt the eyes of NK on him, despite hiding behind U-1146, she could still see him. That was an NK cell for you.

"Oi, Neutrophil, mind stepping out the way for a minute?" NK asked. U-1146 did what he was told and shuffled out the way but Cancer cell wasn't stupid and shuffled with him. Cancer cell had the chance to irritate NK cell and he was going to do it. "Come out from hiding…" NK's voice was stern. She knew he was there…could he risk coming out to play or? He glanced up at U-1146, his eyes were locked onto the pair of cells in front of them. The naives were watching with mixed expressions on their faces. They weren't sure what to do either. With a small gulp, Cancer cell came out from hiding.

"White Blood cell had nothing to do with this…I'm just tagging along," Cancer cell spoke quietly. Was he really going to die already? He hasn't even done anything to warrant death.

"You're not malignant…" NK commented.

"Huh?" Cancer cell and Killer T looked confused before the T cell looked between NK, U-1146 and Cancer cell. U-1146 simply took a sip of tea and let out a happy sigh.

"That's the cancer cell we've been killing for a while. Seems he's come back benign." NK spoke with a disappointed look on her face. Was she really that keen on killing Cancer cell?

"Why don't we just kill him regardless?" Killer T asked before U-1146 gently pushed Cancer cell back behind him.

"He's under MY protection."

"Like hell he is!" Killer T roared (the other three cells covered their ears) before he pointed towards Cancer cell. "We've been killing this b-"

Killer T was stopped as U-1146 had raised a hand against him. Everything froze.

"Did…Squad leader…just get slapped…?" The naïve T cells muttered amongst themselves. NK stood there in a slight shock before the shock vanished to joy and she started laughing.

"You got slapped by a neutrophil!" NK laughed as she pointed at Killer T.

"Hey…we should leave quickly…" Cancer cell whispered to U-1146. The neutrophil nodded in agreement and waited for Cancer cell to make his move first. NK was too distracted and it looked as if Killer T cell was struggling to understand what had just happened. Leaving now would be the perfect opportunity.

"Holy crap this is going to be my favourite memory!" NK continued to laugh.

"Shut up!" Killer T snapped at her. U-1146 quickly grabbed Cancer cell's hand and they both started to run.

"Get back here Neutrophil!" Killer T was fuming as he gave chase to the pair of them.

"He SLAPPED you!" NK continued to howl with laughter, falling to the ground and rolling around. The poor naives weren't sure what was happening anymore.

Cells at Work – To Love is to Care

Cancer cell looked around to where they had run, it was away from the lymphatics so Killer T couldn't follow them but he wasn't where he expected to be. The place was so quiet and…had a rather lonely feel when it came to the surrounding tissue and cell apartments that were abandoned. Just where were they? He wanted to ask but he was too busy trying to catch his breath. He felt jealous of the neutrophil who wasn't panting as heavily as he was. But he was always on patrol, always on guard…and always running when his receptor went off and chased a pathogen through the body to try and kill it.

"Hey…where are we?" Cancer cell asked.

"Cancer cell, you're close to my home." U-1146 responded to the question as he looked back at him. Cancer cell blinked before he smiled.

"Since when did you know?" He asked.

"NK kinda gave it away. But I brought you here for a reason."

"Why did you slap Killer T?"

"It was satisfying, but in reality it was to stop him insulting you." U-1146 didn't look at Cancer cell but instead headed towards his home. Cancer cell followed silently but looked around. Why did his kind-hearted killer decide to live somewhere like this? Somewhere away from everyone else, quiet and…alone? The words U-1146 spoke finally sank in. He protected him from hearing the words Cancer cell hated to hear. "You have questions?" U-1146 glanced behind himself at Cancer cell.

"Well, why live in a place like this? It's nice and everything but…tucked away."

"It's nice and quiet, somewhere they don't really think to look for when it comes to immune cells. We're stereotyped to be loud and prefer to be near others. For me, I like the isolation."

"Heh heh, well shall we go inside?" Cancer cell asked as they stopped in front of a door. U-1146 took the key from his pocket and unlocked the door.

"You'll have to excuse the mess, been trying to create a new tea," U-1146 apologised as they entered the apartment.

The apartment was cluttered with paper and tea bags everywhere. This was where U-1146 lived, and Cancer cell felt special. A few times had Cancer cell brought U-1146 to his home and fought there but this time it was the opposite. U-1146 had brought him home and he wasn't sure who had been brought home before but he felt special. He walked into the main room and noticed that there weren't any chairs but instead large beanbags. U-1146 dropped onto one of them and let out a sigh.

"The scent of tea is pretty powerful," Cancer cell commented as he watched the neutrophil shuffle (or try to) on the beanbag to make room for his guest. Without hesitating, he skipped over and gently put himself next to U-1146. "How are your experiments going?"

"I think I'm nearly there."

"That's great to hear~" Cancer cell smiled as he slowly reached for the gloved hand. He felt the other flinch and recoil slightly before relaxing. Cancer cell panicked slightly when he felt the flinch but when U-1146 relaxed he felt glad. He was glad that U-1146 could relax with him and maybe today they could finally do something together instead of fighting. Just holding his hand made Cancer cell giddy with excitement, he held the hand of his kind-hearted killer and they weren't fighting. It was just the pair of them.

"You're going to think of me as weak…" U-1146 spoke quietly but Cancer cell still heard him.

"Now why would I think that?"

"Can…you hug me?"

"Will you let me?" Cancer cell asked, sitting up to look at his friend.

"No tumour arms, I want your arms."

"Your wish is my command~" Cancer cell smiled as he watched U-1146 sit up on the beanbag and soon the two cells wrapped their arms around each other, U-1146 leant towards him and gently pushed Cancer cell down onto the beanbag so he could rest on the cancerous cell. "Heh, you're really warm~" Cancer cell gently ran his fingers through the snow-white hair. Damn, his hair was soft!

"You're making me feel safe…" U-1146 chuckled slightly "it's weird that someone I've killed twice before…is making me feel safe more than others."

"It's a very strange world, isn't it? You've killed me yet I've fallen for you and it looks like you've fallen for me."

"I have no regrets. If it was just us two more then we could do this more but you've been malignant in the past so your desire to spread and proliferate dominates."

"Shh~ I'm benign now, so let's just enjoy the time we have now~"

Cells at Work – To Love is to Care

"They got away…" Killer T grumbled as he returned. He hoped that NK cell had left as well so he could get back to training the naives. They seemed to be okay but he still saw NK there. She was still there and probably telling the other cells why they shouldn't listen to Killer T and instead find another squad leader. He wouldn't let them but he still didn't like the idea of NK filling their minds with stupid stuff. His mind drifted back to U-1146 and the benign cancer cell…

"You let him get away, huh?" NK asked which further irritated Killer T.

"You didn't even go after him!" Killer T roared.

"He's benign and he's with Neutrophil. We both know how distracted he is with Neutrophil so there's really no harm. He'll be monitored though."

"Then why are you still here?" Killer T growled, folding his arms.

"I simply came by to tease you, you're so easy to tease with that pea brain of yours~"

She saw a vein throb in his head. She was winding him up and she was going to enjoy the hell out of this. Whenever she could she teased him because it was just so easy. Now that U-1146 had left too there wasn't anyone who could stop her. She could have continued even if U-1146 was here but he would always ruin her fun. Now she had free reign and she was going to enjoy the hell out of it. She glanced up at Killer T and wondered what else she could do to tease him? Well, there was always THAT she could do? She had seen how some common cells turned a bright shade of red when THAT was done…but this was Killer T. He probably couldn't even understand what she did and would just yell at her.

"Pea brain!?" He snapped back, just as she expected he would, which only made her want to tease him more like this.

"Alright blondie, wanna fight?" She smirked.

"I'll cream you this time!" Killer T smirked back as he got himself ready to start a fight. NK knew what she had to do. She charged towards Killer T and instead of punching him like Killer T was expecting, she got onto her tiptoes and planted a kiss on Killer T's lips.

Killer T's body locked up.

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Well, hope you enjoyed.


End file.
